4. "I'll punch you back...

and watch your fat jiggle." Thanks Blue.

Yesterday was a great day because it was rave day.



Bonus points if you're a creeper, you don't know me, and you can find me in that picture.

Cool things:



Falling into the 'Coolest Movies Ever' category, El Orfanato, (The Orphanage), is my newly discovered all-time favorite horror film. I actually hate horror films, but this was fantastic. Made in 2007 and produced by Pan's Labyrinth's Guillermo del Toro, the story follows the life of Laura, a woman who returns to the orphanage in which she was raised and decides to turn it into a home for disabled children. An argument with her adopted son leads to his disappearance and the film follows her as she attempts to uncover the secrets of the orphanage as well as the kidnapping of her son. Let's embed some trailers up in herr.



The double possessive in Icelandic.

Examples:

'His owner's voice' = 'Rödd eiganda hans' (voice of-owner his)
'His mom's name' = 'Nafn mömmu hans' (name of-mom his)

and so on. Exciting! Don't judge.



Today I discovered Þjóðlög, an album by Ragnheiður Gröndal, and I have to say that it's some pretty nice stuff. Ragnheiður has a very nice voice and, staying true to the albums title, sings "Folk Tunes" throughout the 13 track, 40 minute album. Fans of very subtle instrumental arrangements, strong female vocalists, folk songs and North Germanic languages (!!) would most definitely enjoy this.

To wrap up the list of cool things, I present this picture:



Why yes, that is Blue's head! Thanks for asking.

Not-so-cool things:



Obama has, from the start, been a "fierce advocate for the equality of gay and lesbian Americans," but having the most blatant anti-gay, Muslim, Jewish, [insert non-Christian or minority here] pastor, Rick Warren, give invocation is a big mistake. Obama's reasoning is that he is "reaching across the aisle" to include people of different political views. Could someone politely let him know that they're both against gay marriage? I don't see too much reaching, sorry. I'm mainly complaining because I'm tired, but it's still a bit odd to me. To remedy this, however, Obama has invited a gay marching band to perform. I don't see how that makes things any less controversial. To remedy the antisemitism, a rabbi is to provide closing statements. Gays and Jews everywhere should be thinking, "lolwut"...

United States? 15th Place.

Falling three spaces from 2007, the United Nations' annual Human Development Index reveals that the United States is the fifteenth most developed country in the world. So much for the best country in the world... Coming in 1st place for the second year in a row? My homeboy, Iceland. Full list can be found here.

That's all I can think of at the moment. If I don't see you before Christmas, Gleðileg jól og farsælt komandi ár!

3. The Front Door is Open...?

I've said it once and I'll say it again: I cannot maintain a blog. To make up for this, I have decided to make this entry rather extensive, covering many different categories that are important in everyday life... I suppose. It will serve as one entry to last a week at the least. Let us embark.

Music

This is going to be a condensed version of this week's best music, hopefully. It is very likely that I'll get carried away.


Hjaltalín is a very difficult band to write about. Eh, that's not necessarily true, but it is very difficult to label genre-wise. Last.fm has attempted to tackle this challenge by stating that, "the band is certainly hard to categorize with influences ranging from modern indie rock to 60’s pop music to classical music." Sufficient enough. They come from Iceland, but all of the songs with lyrics are in English. Very clear English, I might add. It's very peaceful to me and I suggest you listen to the full tracks that are streamed on last.fm to get a better feel for the band. Sleepdrunk Seasons is the only album that I have, and it may be their only one. No wiki article, so I'm as clueless as you are.



When I think of guilty pleasures, two musicians immediately come to mind: Basshunter and Yelle. French electro-pop taken to the extremes with subject matter ranging from boy problems to porn. If it's trashy, it's mentioned in one of the tracks on her latest, and only, album entitled POP-UP. Since I don't trust you enough to check out the catchy music that everyone should hate, but for some reason they just can't stop listening to... I will figure out how to embed videos.



If that works...then super. And that is very condensed! I'm impressed. Next topic!

Film

Now this one is fun. I will try to stay consistent with my two of each and stick with two of the best movies I've seen recently.



I'm not a big fan of the Asian movies with the fighting and all that, but House of Flying Daggers was simply amazing. I mean that in the original sense of the word, not the watered-down high schooler way. It follows a younger Chinese dancer who's a member of a radical group against the new government. If you're a fan of action, you won't be disappointed. If you're a fan of semi-romantic plot lines with breathtaking cinematography, you'll be blown away. Zhang ZiYi is quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses.



And keeping with the foreign theme of this week's favorites:



I should thank Blue every day for forcing me to watch this movie. Jeux d'enfants is a story of a quirky childhood game turned obsession in a complex and beautiful love story. I laughed, I cried, I stared at Blue for a minimum of 5 minutes at the end, jaw to the floor. It's full of twists, turns, and the best of French humor and production that exhibits how ahead of their time the French filmmakers continue to be. One of my top 10 favorite movies of all time without a doubt. Trailers will be embedded...



And the opposite of kudos to whoever chose the English title...

Literature

I've been reading quite a lot lately. I think I should limit myself to one this week since I'm getting really tired and I have many more categories to cover. This one is great though and it is another one of my instant favorites.



I think that everyone in the entire world should read this book. It's about everything that everyone goes through during their lives. It's incredibly real. The book follows a written letter format to an anonymous character and it details the life of Charlie, a freshman near-genius with such a diverse group of acquaintances; punk rockers, homosexuals, jocks, cheerleaders...everyone. It's easy to identify with someone in the book. It's also not all that happy all the time and it conveys all sort of messages. It's full of usable advice, tattered friendships, confused relationships, awkward encounters, and even the obligatory belligerent, racist grandfather. Buy it or borrow it from someone.

TO BE CONTINUED! I can't keep my eyes open.

If you've read all of this so far, I'm so proud of your attention span.

2. Skype and Preliminary Examinations

So the PSAT is on Saturday at 8:00 AM. I don't really know how to feel; it's semi-important, I suppose, but nothing that big. Oh, but I went to a study party which went as follows:

"I don't like cheetos." "Illicitly..." "Vegans?" "Skittles!" "Guitar Hero!"

And the studying didn't happen. BUT, the pictures were interesting. I will hunt for a couple. --They haven't been posted.--

Which brings me to a series of unrelated points:


1. Myspace is a filthy puddle of gross.

What a poor excuse for a social networking site. If you frequent Myspace, I just lost a bit of respect for you.


2. Rachel Maddow is the lesbian political scientist equivalent to God.

Her show is fantastic. Seriously, Youtube her or something. She's intelligent, sarcastic, witty, etc. (I ran out of cliché adjectives, what can I say?) She's quite blatantly liberal, and she really holds her own in debates.

"To hold one's own" is a very awkward phrase.

3. I have a large quantity of American History text to read.

Quiz tomorrow, quiz tomorrow, quiz tomorrow! Boo.


It's almost ten and I haven't read ANY of the history's 30 pages. So, I must end this abruptly.

kthnxhstry.

1. Trashy Television and Tchaikovsky

Today was a disaster.

To remedy my mood, I will discuss the things that have made me happy last few days:

The Hush Sound has been playing rather steadily the past few days. It had been a while since I'd listened to them last. Instead of heading straight for their newest album, I picked up Like Vines and I'm hooked. It's not a very characteristic choice, in my opinion, but I find it simply fantastic.

My favorite song is a tie between "We Intertwined" and "Out Through the Curtain". If you like "indie rock" then you should check it out.


It came as a complete shock that I fell in love with I am Robot and Proud's newest electronica album Uphill City. The first song brought about some unwonted nostalgia (I instantly thought of The Sims...). This album was a life-saver when it came to mowing. The ridiculous task flew by as this was looping in my ONE functional ear bud.

I don't really know if people still say "ear bud", but whatever.

This album doesn't have a wiki article, so I suggest you look him up on last.fm.


Okay, who pissed off Tchaikovsky?! But seriously, he looks disappointed. I recently joined a youth symphony orchestra. My favorite song, BY FAR, is the "Finale" to Swan Lake by Mr. Grumps above.

"The bassoons actually have a nice part?!"

No. BUT, it sounds fantastic, and I'm sure our droning low E-flats are helping something.

Season 8 of Degrassi kicked off on Friday. I laughed, I cried, I took a few pee breaks. I generally despise TV shows and I absolutely loathe teenage drama. Leave it to Canada to combine the two.

Does that even make sense? Not at all, really. I hate everything that the show is, but I love the show. I don't get it.

"Irregardless" the picture of Mia is there for an obvious reason: the whole episode revolved around her FILTHY, WHORE-ISH MODELING CAREER and her 12 year old daughter. (Yes, I know she's not 12, but seniors in high school don't give birth in fourth grade...) There's also a brief side-story about the uni girls and the nerdy chick that sings hymns for "the lulz." She also eats in the classroom and is therefore turning into A FILTHY SKANK LIKE MIA.

The series stays true to its inablility to keep any bit of homosexuality out of a single episode. T-Bombz girl kisses another woman to prove her hardcore-osity, or something.

(Firefox didn't underline 'hardcore-osity'...)

---------------------------------------------

Those aren't the only things that make me happy, but they're some of the few.

Nap time.